John roach



(No Model.)

J. ROAGH.

H'ATGHWAY.

Patented 12, 1889.

M M w W 6 a m n m J ATTORNEYS WITNESSES.

N. PETERS. P mmuuw m hcr, Washington. n, cy

- lUETiTEn hTaTEs PATENT @EEicE,

JOIIN ROAOII, F NE\V YORK, N. Y.

HATCHWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 399,563, dated March12, 1889.

Application filed $eptember 20, 1888.

T0 (6 whmn it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, Joan ROACH, a citizen of the United States, residingat New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented new anduseful Improvements in IIatchway-Door Mechanism, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to hatchways, and has for its object to providenovel means whereby pairs of doors or covers at the floors or landingsare automatically closed and can be simultaneously raised or opened, orthose doors or covers at one side be raised independent of the doors atthe opposite side.

The object of my invention I accomplish by the features of constructionand combination of devices hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing made to the accom panying drawings, in which Figure 1 is avertical section, 011 the line a so of Fig. 3, of a hatchway-shaftshowing my invention, the shaft being shown open. Fig. 2 is a similarsection, the shaft being shown closed. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section.on the line y y, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail of one of the hinges K,showing one of the leaves of the hinge K extending through the wall ofthe shaft.

Similar letters indicate corresponding parts.

The letter A designates a hatchway-shaft which may constitute anair-shaft for dwellings and other buildings. The air-shaft-A is inclosedon its four sides by tight or close walls 1. 2 3 4: and it extends fromthe lower or landing floor, I3, upward through the several floors C D,to the top of the house or ceiling E. The shaft is provided at thebottom floor with a doorway, F, and door G at its front side, 1, toenable one to have access to it; and it is also provided with windows Hon one or more of the other sides. In this example I have shown myinvention applied in a building having only two floors above thelanding-floor I3; but it is obvious that itcan be applied to houses withany number of floors. The shaft is divided into sections .I J Jcorrespondiilg to the number and locations of the floors, by means ofspring covers or platforms I I,wl1ich COl'lOSPOIld, respectively, to thelevel of the floors of the building, and which close down automati callywhen it is de Serial No. 285,904. (No model.)

sired to close the air-shaft. The covers I I of each section of theshaft, when closed, extend completely across the shaft in everydirection, and are hinged to the flooring of the building by springhinges K, (seen most clearly in Figs. 3 and 4,) which are so constructedand arranged as to tend constantly to close the covers. The sides of thecovers I I, when closed, are supported by brackets L, arranged along theinside of the air-shaft, as indicated in Figs. 1,2, and i, and in dottedlines in Fig. 3. The outer edges, M,of the covers I I are intended tomeet when the covers are closed, so as to prevent flame or sparks offire from passing up between them.

The covcrsI are opened bymeans of a rope or cord, N, which extendsupward from the cover I of section J, to which it is fastened at itsouter edge, M, to the outer edge of the cover I of the section J above,to which it is in like manner fastened, and thence over a pulley, O,placed on the adjacent wall of the shaft, thence upward through apulley, I, at the upper part of the upper section, J thence across thesame and through the opposite wall of that section and over the pulleyQ, thence downward outside of the shaft and through the several floorsof the building at R R, to the fastening-cleat S, to which the cord isfastened.

The covers I of the sections .I J are opened in like manner by means ofthe cord T, one end of which is fastened to the lower cover, I, and saidcord is taken thence upward through the upper cover, I, and thencethrough the adjacent wall of the shaft at U, and over pulley V, andthence downward through the floors R R to the cleat S, to which it isfastened.

In Fig. 1 the several covers I I are shown open, having been drawn up tothat position by means of the cords N T, and they are kept in thatposition by fastening the cords, as explained. It will be observed thatboth cords N T are on the same side of the shaft, so that both can bereadily operated at once. \Vhen the cords are released from the cleat S,or cut, the covers I I immediately close auto1nati cally, through theoperation of their springhinges K, the springs Y of which are flat andare placed under the hinges, one end being secured down to the coverswith the hinges, While the other end is free, as indicated in Figs. 3and 4.

The cords N T are preferably made of material that can be easily out incase the build ing is on fire, and that will readily burn, so that thecords being thereby severed and re leased the covers I I will thereuponshut down of themselves and the airshaft be closed, so that the peculiardanger which arises from the presence of an open air-shaft or hatchwayin a building on fire will be averted, and the flames and combustion beprevented from ascending through the same to the upper stories, and thefire be confined to the place where it originated.

If desired, there may be windows on all the sides of the air-shaft, aswell as on the back part, if much light is required. Any suitable springother than the one shown can be employed in connection with the hingesof the covers. The hinges are protected from injury by fire by beingarranged on the upper side of the covers and of the floors, one of theleaves, IV, extending through the Walls of the shaft and above thefloor, as shown in Fig. at, the other leaf, X, extending on the upperside of the cover, so that the hinges are out of the way and not liableto injury from fire from below. The spring-plates under the hinges serveto automatically close the pairs of covers down toward each other, andby the arrangement of the cords described and shown, so that bothdescend at one and the same side of the closed walls of the air-shaft.The covers are all simultaneously opened by pulling both cords downtogether, While the covers at either side of the shaft may be opened bypulling down one cord alone.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is'

The combination of the closed Walls provided at each floor-landing witha pair of covers, each pair secured, respectively, to opposite sides ofthe walls by hinges, the springplates respectively connected at one endwith the hinges to the covers and loose and sliding at the other end forautomatically closing the covers down toward each other, and twoindependent cords passing over pulleys respectively connected with allthe covers at one side of the shaft and both descending together at oneside thereof and adapted to be simultaneously drawn down together, or tobe independently drawn down, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN ROACH. [L. s]

Witnesses:

J. VAN SANTvooRD, E. F. KASTENHUBER.

